Crews Prep Skid Row Sidewalks For Power Washing

Los Angeles city officials recently settled a 2003 lawsuit brought by advocates for homeless skid row residents who complained of being arrested for sleeping on sidewalks, despite having nowhere else to go. Under the new deal, people can sleep on Los Angeles sidewalks between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. as long as they do not block doorways or driveways, or completely block the sidewalk. Los Angeles is often referred to as the homeless capital of the nation because of its estimated 40,144 people living on city streets and 73,000 homeless spread across the county, according to recent figures attributed to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, The 73,000 homeless include 10,000 minors, 24,505 people suffering from a mental illness, 8,453 military veterans, and nearly 7,200 victims of domestic abuse. (Photo credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — City cleanup crews descended on Skid Row Tuesday to clean up the human waste, hypodermic needles, condoms and rats that have built up in the area.

On orders from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the city’s Department of Public Works began a two- to three-week effort – called Operation Healthy Streets – to literally scrub down the sidewalks after a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health report noted the health dangers of living among feces, urine, rats and hypodermic needles found on Skid Row.

Crews will remove all items – including the possessions of homeless people – from the sidewalks on the streets on the east side of downtown where the homeless congregate and the sidewalks will be power-washed.

Possessions collected from the streets will be held in storage for at least 90 days at the Central City East Check-In Center, and a Storage facility at 432 E. Temple St.

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority personnel have been telling Skid Row occupants about the cleanup operation and where to claim their belongings. Four outreach workers are accompanying clean-up crews, spokesman Peter Griffith said.